A lot of critics of the Occupy Wall St. movement complain the protesters are confused and lack a coherent message. But it is no accident that the OWS movement started in New York City, home of Wall St. and presided over by the mayorship of Micheal Bloomberg, wealthy Wall St. tycoon and politician. It is the unholy alliance of great wealth and governance that forms a cornerstone of the OWS protests. Mayor Bloomberg perfectly represents much of that to which the OWS movement objects. And this week, as his police force trampled protester's tents, free speech, and free press rights alike, Mayor Bloomberg showed himself to be equally firm in his opposition to the OWS movement. Bloomberg is the perfect yin to the OWS yang.
Micheal Bloomberg started his career on Wall St. in the sixties. In 1973, Bloomberg became a general partner at the investment firm Solomon Bros., where he headed equity trading, and then worked on information systems software development. Solomon Bros. was one of the companies that pioneered the use of credit default swaps as an investment strategy. Bloomberg lost his position in 1981 when the company was bought out, and received a $10 million severance. Using this money, he set up his own company to provide business information to Wall St. firms. One of the first customers was Merrill Lynch, who invested $30 million in Bloomberg's new business. The company became Bloomberg LP in 1986. Bloomberg LP helped fuel the move to accelerated and manipulated computerized and online trading. The company expanded, and today includes a trading platform, a messaging service, a news-wire service, and a radio network.
Mr. Bloomberg became very wealthy during the Great Recession, at a time when many Americans lost jobs, had their homes foreclosed, and lost a lifetime of savings. Between March of '07 and March of '09, Bloomberg moved from 142nd to 17th on the Forbes list of wealthiest people. In 2008, his fortune was estimated at $11.5 billion; in 2009, it had increased to $16 billion. In March of 2011, Bloomberg's fortune was estimated at 19.5 billion, raising him to 12th wealthiest on the Forbes 400 list. On entering the world of politics in 2001, Bloomberg gave up his position as CEO of Bloomberg LP, though he still retains an 88% share of the company's ownership.
Not content to simply amass great wealth on Wall St., Mr. Bloomberg entered politics. In 2001, Bloomberg ran for mayor of NYC. While NYC campaign laws restrict the amount of money a candidate can receive through donations, Bloomberg chose to use his own fortune to finance his campaign, thereby avoiding any restrictions in his quest for public office. He reportedly spend $73 million of his own money, outspending the democratic candidate 5 to 1. Bloomberg won the mayor's seat, taking a 50 – 48% share of the vote over his democratic challenger Mark J. Green 50-48%. That was the year in which voting in the NYC mayor's race was delayed several months by the 9/11 terrorist attacks..
Mr Bloomberg had been a life-long democrat, but switched his party affiliation to GOP when he first ran for mayor. As a republican mayor of NYC, Bloomberg campaigned to bring the 2004 GOP presidential convention to NYC (despite the fact that 68% of NYC's registered voters are democratic). The convention itself featured the famous purple heart band-aids used to mock wounded American veterans, and set off massive public demonstrations that resulted in over 1800 arrests. Eventually, 90% of those arrested had their cases dismissed or dropped for lack of actual evidence. The pioneering use of groundless detentions as a means of crowd-control would serve Bloomberg and his administration will in the fall of 2011.
On 2005, Bloomberg was re-elected as mayor of NYC. He reported spent $74 million of his own money on his re-election. NYC electoral law at that time restricted the mayor to two consecutive terms. In 2008, Bloomberg announced he would seek to change the law and run for a third term, arguing that his leadership was needed in the face of the economic woes gripping the country (the same economic problems that were quickly making him one of the richest men in America). In Oct, 2008, the NY City Council voted to extend the term limit for mayor to three consecutive terms, allowing Bloomberg to run again for mayor. Bloomberg himself signed the bill into law. Like so many republicans embarrassed by the two terms of George Bush as president, Bloomberg disavowed the republican party in 2009, and again switched his party affiliation to Independent. Bloomberg won the election over democratic candidate Bill Thompson 50 - 46%.
Of course, the nation's wealthiest 1% believe they should be allowed to purchase positions of political power, and use their newly-bought political strength to change and re-write laws to better pander to their own gilded desires. No longer is it necessary to limit the creation of banana republics to central America, when wealthy, self-selected businessmen can run exploitative politic-economic oligarchies right here in the good 'ol US of A.
This is exactly what the OWS movement seeks to change, and it is no wonder that Mike Bloomberg and the corporatocracy would use whatever means necessary to silence their critics: night-sticks, tear-gas, ungrounded detentions, news black-outs, and no-fly zones. The people object to the privatization of our democratic system of government, and the privatized governments object to the unwashed and ungrateful masses rudely protesting their lordly beneficence. Micheal Bloomberg and OWS form the ultimate yin-yang of American politics.